Moments: Date Night
by ioanhoratio
Summary: Life has been busy in the Messer home.  So it's always good to set aside a little time for the ones you love. Post Season 7.


**Moments: Date Night**

**By: ioanhoratio**

**A/N: Poking out from under my rock. Crazy busy summer=little time for fanfic. But I was craving this. Pure fluff here; I couldn't help myself.**

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><p>"Whoa! Where you off to in such a hurry, Sergeant?" Jo Danville drawled with a smile as Danny Messer flew passed her.<p>

Stumbling slightly in his haste to stop, Danny turned and explained, "Had to finish up with Mac over a case, and we ran long. Now I gotta get home."

"Everything's alright I hope," Jo pressed suddenly put on guard by Danny's rush.

"Yeah, everything's great," Danny assured as he pressed the button to call the elevator, then with a smile said, "I jus' gotta get home. It's date night, an' I can't be late."

Jo's face spread into a wide grin, but before she could comment a much deeper voice responded, "Date night, huh?"

Both adults turned to the man who was exiting the newly opened elevator. "Yeah, Flack," Danny snapped, then hoping to stave off any snarky comments added, "Date night. I know it's been a while but surely you remember it's when you take your girl out for a good time."

Jo gave a bark of laughter, which Don rewarded with a frown. "That ain't nice Messer."

"Whatever, now get outta my way," Danny grumbled, waving his arms out indicating for Flack to step out of the elevator.

Don took slow meandering steps, purposefully taking his time.

"Seriously?" Danny groaned.

"Oh, am I takin' too long for you Danny?" Don asked, his teasing only fueled by Jo's laughter.

The second Don was out of the way Danny flew into the elevator and continuously pressed the button that would take him to ground level.

"Have a good time!" Jo called through the closing doors, and then turned to her tall companion and accused, "You are so mean." She slapped him playfully on the arm with the file she was holding.

"What?" Don balked, "I'm mean? Did you hear what he implied? I date! Women like me!"

Jo just laughed further.

"Hey guys, have you seen Danny?" Lindsay's voice interrupted.

The pair turned to her with confused expressions before breaking out into laughter. Despite her confusion, Lindsay couldn't help the smile that spread across her face as she asked, "What? What's so funny?"

Don recovered first and managed to bark, "He forgot his wife!" The laughter continued at an even louder volume.

Jo swiped at the tears in her eyes and said, "I think it's sweet. He was so excited for date night…"

"That he forgot his date!" Don interjected gleefully.

Lindsay rolled her eyes, but before she could defend her husband, the elevator opened and without a word Danny stepped off long enough to grab her hand and tug her onto the lift with him.

"Nice j.." Don's remark was cut off as Jo's hand found its way to Don's lips, stopping any further comment.

"Enjoy your date," she told them evenly as the doors closed, her hand still covering Don's mouth.

"Not a word," Danny commanded his wife once the doors had closed.

"I don't think I'm the one you're going to have to worry about," Lindsay offered with a smile, "Besides I love seeing how excited you are." She leaned over and placed a chaste kiss on his cheek.

"Yeah, yeah," he grunted doing his best to keep his expression annoyed, but he couldn't hide from her, and he welcomed her fingers as they wrapped themselves around his.

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><p>Danny gazed at his ties, debating which to wear with his light blue shirt and charcoal suit. He wanted tonight to be special. He had everything planned out and he was excited to see her reaction. He had been looking forward to this date all week and knew she was just as excited, if not more.<p>

"Are you ready to go?" His wife asked as she made her way into their bedroom.

"Almost, do you think I should wear a tie or jus' go like this?" he threw over his shoulder.

"Oh, you've got to wear a tie," she purred into his ear as she wrapped her arms around his body from behind. "This is a special night, remember?"

"Like I could forget," Danny smiled. He saw her slender arm reach out and snatch up his black tie. He felt a gentle pressure on his shoulder, indicating for him to turn to face her, which he did.

"Wow, that is sexy babe," he drawled out, taking in her appearance.

"Shut up," she smirked, tossing his tie over his head and tucking it under his collar.

"I'm serious," Danny insisted, "I think you should dress like this everyday."

Lindsay rolled her eyes at him as she began weaving the two parts of the tie together to form a perfect knot. "You think Mac would be cool with that?"

"He let you get away with it once," Danny pointed out.

"That was different," Lindsay argued, "I wasn't dressed exactly like this and back then I had no choice."

"Excuses, excuses," Danny teased, "I think you jus' wanted to catch my eye."

He grunted as Lindsay pulled a little harder than necessary to straighten his tie.

"You keep thinking that babe," Lindsay appeased, knowing her cut off sweat pants and old Whitesnakes t-shirt wasn't exactly the height of fashion, though the shirt hugged her curves nicely. Stepping back she took a moment to rake her eyes over her husband's body. His suit fit well on his body, the dark color of his shirt emphasized the blue of his eyes and his hair had been strategically messed up, giving him the persona of a sexy playboy trying to play it straight. Lindsay gave a sigh of longing. "You look perfect."

Danny grinned at her. "Am I detecting a hint of jealousy Mrs. Messer?"

"No," Lindsay answered, reaching out to lazily run her hands up and down his well toned stomach and chest. "There is no way I could stand between the two of you tonight."

Danny tugged her closer to him and lowered his head, pressing his lips gently against hers in a brief kiss.

"You smell nice," she breathed out before rising on her toes to deepen the kiss, bringing her hands up to cup his face, using her thumbs to run against his now smooth cheeks. Danny gave a small growl of longing as Lindsay fell back from him.

"You know," Danny panted as he tried to catch his breath, "my date has an early bedtime."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," Danny winked at her.

"Well then maybe you and I will have an early bedtime," Lindsay promised coyly then added, "If you're lucky." She turned to walk away from him, but he grabbed her hand and yanked her to him.

She gave a squeal of surprise.

"_An' here I go again on my own. Goin' down the only road I've ever know_," Danny sang out before smacking Lindsay on the ass.

"You are such an idiot," she laughed, squirming away from him. "Now hurry up. She's in the living room pulling on every beaded necklace she has."

Danny nodded, then brought his head up, "Wait, where's the thing?"

Lindsay frowned at him as she thought about what he was talking about, which only took a moment to realize what he meant, "Oh yeah, I stuck it in the refrigerator for you."

"Go distract 'er while I sneak in there and grab it."

"I'm on it," she declared as she sped out into the family living room.

"Oh Mommy!" Lucy cried, "I find my net-less." The three year old held up the shiny piece of jewelry she had been giving by her godfather Mac.

"That's great baby girl, come here and I'll put it on you," Lindsay instructed.

The toddler eagerly ran to her mother, offering the heart shaped pendant.

Lindsay strategically angled Lucy away from the hall, allowing Danny the opportunity to slip into the kitchen. She closed the clasp on the necklace and saw Danny wave to her out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head and saw him poke his head around the wall and pointed to the door.

She nodded with understanding. "Lucy, would you like to wear a little bit of Mommy's lip gloss?"

Lucy's eyes grew large with awe. "Des peez Mommy!"

Lindsay stood and took her daughter by the hand. The pair headed into the master bathroom. Lindsay set the child on the counter and rummaged through her makeup bag. She pulled out the clear gloss and dabbed is gently against the little girl's lips.

Lucy excitedly turned to look at herself in the mirror. "Oh, I so boot-e-ful!"

Lindsay laughed. "Yes you are," she agreed with delight.

A loud knock sounded.

Lucy's now shiny mouth formed into surprised "o" and she reached out frantically for Lindsay to help her down. "Daddy here!" she cried excitedly, her legs propelling her forward before her feet practically touched the ground.

"Be careful," Lindsay called, desperate to avoid any stumbling disasters.

Fortunately, despite the slightly longer party dress, the toddler was able to stay upright as she ran for the living room. With an indulgent smile Lindsay followed.

"Lucy! You know you aren't allowed to open the front door." she reprimanded as she rounded the corner, and the toddler immediately let got of the door handle giving her mother a contrite smile that soon morphed into pure glee.

With a sigh Lindsay grabbed a butterfly hair clip from off the computer desk and quickly pinned back Lucy's bangs before she opened the front door revealing Danny.

Lucy's hands fisted together frantically, her tiny body practically shaking with excitement. Finally, unable to contain her emotions further, she launched herself at her father.

"Daddy!"

Danny had a matching grin on his face as he scooped her up into a tight hug, bringing them both into the apartment.

"Hey Lucy girl, are you ready for our date?" Danny asked setting her gently on her feet.

"I weady fo'r date! I wear my peetty pint dwess Daddy!" Lucy answered, spinning around.

"That is a pretty pink dress Luce, and how about a pretty pink flower to go with it?" Danny pulled out the tiniest wrist corsage either adult had ever seen.

Lucy gasped with pure awe and stood silent as Danny slipped the pink baby rosebud covered accessory onto her arm. She brought her other hand up to delicately feel the smooth petals and softly said, "Loot Momma."

"I see baby girl," Lindsay answered, her own face spreading into a grin, "what a beautiful bracelet."

"Bootiful bay-cet," Lucy parroted with reverence.

The parents looked at each other, Lindsay's heart filling with love for the man who had gone the extra mile to ensure their daughter had a special evening.

"A beautiful bracelet for a beautiful girl," Danny confirmed, pleased that his surprise had gone over so well. "Now, we ready to go?"

"Oh wait," Lindsay called over her shoulder as she dashed out of the room. She returned moments later with their digital camera.

"Get together you two," she instructed and Danny dutifully crouched down behind his little girl. The pair smiled as she snapped a few photos and then snapped a few more when Danny pulled Lucy up into his arms and the little girl wrapped her arms around his neck.

"A'right, we gotta go or we'll miss our dinner reservations," Danny pointed out. "Bye Momma." He leaned in and kissed Lindsay.

"Bye Momma," Lucy mimicked, she too giving her mom a kiss goodbye.

"You guys have fun on your date," Lindsay told them before closing the door. She looked around the now empty apartment wondering how to spend her evening. Deciding the scrubbing of the bathroom could wait for another day; she instead snatched up her iPad, and snuggled into the couch to catch up on a few chapters in the book she was reading.

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><p>Lindsay's eyes flew open as her body gave a startled jerk. It took a moment to focus, but she soon recognized the sounds of the front door being unlocked and opened. She wiped frantically at her chin and lips worried she had drooled all over herself, then with a derisive sigh set the iPad, whose screen had long since gone dark, on the coffee table. She had gotten no more than a few paragraphs in before she had apparently dozed off.<p>

She frowned at how quiet it was.

Lindsay stood, and waited for her husband and daughter to make their way into the living room. Moments later her patience was rewarded as Danny came in, his arms laden with the slumbering child. Lucy's slightly chocolate covered face rested against his shoulder, her hair near her brow dampened from sweat, her arms and legs dangling loosely. Lindsay glanced at the clock, seeing it was nearly 8:30—almost an hour passed the little girl's normal bedtime.

Wordlessly Lindsay moved to follow Danny into their daughter's room. She slid around him to pull back Lucy's covers, allowing him to set the child down. As Danny began pulling off her shoes, Lindsay worked to get the dress unbuttoned. The parents still marveled at how heavily their baby slept, as she was stripped down, redressed in a night shirt, face wiped clean, and forehead kissed twice.

With tender smiles on their faces and wrapped in each others arms, they took a moment to watch the gentle rise and fall of Lucy's chest, her cheeks pinking up in her sleep. Soon, by mutual agreement, the pair made their way back into the living room.

"I take it tonight was a success," Lindsay commented as Danny began loosening his tie.

He gave a snort. "I'll say. She went crazy over every little thing. Kept sayin' 'Oh Daddy, it's per-fet.'"

"What'd you guys wind up doing?" she asked, plopping down on the couch, watching as he finally pulled off his tie, then jacket, tossing them both on the back of the couch before setting himself down next to her and tiredly leaning into the cushions.

"Well, we had dinner at Seredipity's…"

Before he could finish his sentence Lindsay gave a groan of appreciation.

Danny smirked, "Yeah, it was good. We even got the frozen hot chocolate."

"Of course you did," Lindsay observed dryly, her tone conveying her jealousy. Serendipity 3 was famous for their fabulous food, especially their decadent chocolate dessert.

"As you can guess, Lucy loved it," Danny continued. "Then we went to the concert in the park. There was a Beatles cover band playin', an' they were pretty good, but the coolest part was they had all these bubble machines goin'. Lucy an' I danced around in them. It was awesome Linds. There musta been a thousand bubbles flyin' around at once. Lucy, a'course, went nuts."

"Tell me you got some photos on your phone," Lindsay begged.

Danny grinned, and fished his phone from his pocket, handing it to her.

"Oh!" Lindsay gushed, scrolling through the several shots of her daughter running and dancing around in a field of bubbles.

As she continued to scroll through the photos, Danny resumed his story, "It was hot an' humid so we decided to cool down by grabbing a thing of chocolate Dip n'Dots from a cart and catchin' the last half of a puppet show they were havin' on the side of the park closest to us. It was _The Princess and the Pea_ and Lucy laughed her head off at it."

Lindsay chose not to comment on the fact that their toddler got two sugary desserts in one night, but Danny insisted, "It was our special date night!"

"I didn't say a word."

"Yeah, but you were thinkin' it," He observed, bringing his hand up and vaguely gesturing to her head.

Lindsay chuckled. "Guilty, but it was your special date night, so I chose not to worry about it."

Danny's grin turned triumphant. "Tell ya the truth I was worried you'd get pissed."

"Well any other night and I would," Lindsay assured, but added, "For that matter any other night and you wouldn't dream of giving her so much sugar. You're a good Daddy. I trust you."

Danny puffed his chest out proudly. "I am a good Daddy, especially when my overly tired daughter wants to be carried the four blocks back home."

"Oh Danny," Lindsay winced, "that could not have been fun or easy. No wonder you're tired. Is your back alright?"

"I'll live." Which was code for: Hurt like hell, but it was totally worth it. "She fell asleep the last block an' a half."

"You wore her out," Lindsay giggled.

They sat for a moment in comfortable silence before Danny asked, "What'd you get up to tonight? On your rare night off?"

Lindsay shrugged, "You know, a little of this, a little of that."

"You fell asleep on the couch, didn't you?" Danny teased knowingly.

Lindsay gave him a toothy grin. "Yep." She reached out and unbuttoned the top of his dress shirt for him. "And it was glorious."

Danny laughed.

"I'm so glad you did this," Lindsay commented as she began stroking her fingers through his still slightly damp hair.

"Me too," Danny breathed, closing his eyes, enjoying the pampering from his wife. "Work has been so crazy; tryin' to make sure I'm not just considered the science geek, to prove I can make a good Sergeant."

He opened his eyes and sat up suddenly, turning to face her. "I miss you, an' I miss seein' Lucy as much."

It was true. Danny has spent many long hours working his way into the respect of his position. Working to show those in his unit that he was fit to lead and serve. As a result, their time together as a couple and as a family had lessened since his promotion.

"We miss you," Lindsay replied, with a sad smile, "but we are so proud of you. And we know it's not going to be this way forever."

Danny nodded, though Lindsay could tell he was unconvinced.

"Listen," she said, sliding her body into his lap, "Change is hard, but we're making it. We're adjusting. This date night idea you had was wonderful and it clearly meant a lot to Lucy, and to me. And you and me? We'll make time for each other. It will take some angling and some sacrifice but that's nothing new, huh?"

Danny gave a small laugh.

"The fact that you love us so much and we love you tells me there is no way we will fail. We're a family forever Danny. And date night's just the beginning. You know I have faith in you."

Danny leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her, bringing his head to rest against her chest. "It's hard not to feel guilty," he mumbled against her.

Lindsay responded by bring her own arms around his body, holding him close, her fingers back in his hair. "Well, try, because no one in this family feels neglected by you. You are well adored Sergeant Messer."

"I love it when you call me that," Danny declared just before burying his face in her breasts.

Lindsay's own laughter bubbled out. "You know after my nap I'm feeling well rested."

Danny brought his head up to look her in the eyes.

"How about you get a third dessert tonight…Sergeant…Messer," she cooed, placing soft kisses against his face.

"I love date night," Danny groaned, before partaking in the most delicious morsel of all.

**The end**

**Thanks for reading!**


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